Friction-clutch.



in. 822,833. PATENTED JUNE 5, 1906.

" J. F. DURYBA.

' FRICTION CLUTCH. APrLmA'TIoN rum) 3012, 1904.

' 2 sums-sum 1,

PATENTED JUNE 5, 1906.

'- J. F. DURYEA.

. FRICTION CLUTCH.

APPLIOATION FILED DBU.12, 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES FRANK DURYEA, OF SPRINGFIELD. MASSACHUSETTS.

FRICTION-CLUTCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Iatented Jane 5, 1906 A li ati n filed December 12. 1904. Serial No. 236,502-

To all whom ifimcty concern:

Be it knownjthat I, JAMES FRANK DUR' YEA, a citizen of the United States of America, residingat Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Friction-Clutches,- of which thefollowmg is a specification.

This invention relates to frietionrclutches, and has special reference to clutches of that type which comprise a sen s. of concentnc ally-disposed rings on the driving and the driven members of the clutch, the peripherstruct the clutch in such manner that it may be readily taken apart for the purpose of adding to or removing the friction-rings or for the inspection of the same, a still further ob.- ject of the invention being to provide a single adjusting element, whereby the maximum degree of the frictional contact between the rings maybe regulated.

Having these ends in view, the invention consists in the construction described in the following specification and clearly pointed out in the claims forming part thereof, the construction being fully illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which F igure 1 is a sectional elevation of a clutch construction in which this invention is embodied, certain parts being shown ,in full lines, the plane of the section being on line 1 1 ,Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is an elevation of the same. as viewed from the right-hand side of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a casing for the clutch mechanism, the operating-lever extending through the wall thereof. Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation of the Same on line 4 4,

Fig. 3, this ligu re, as well as Fig. 4, being on.

a somewhat reduced scale.

The clutch which forms. the Subject-matter of this application is designed especially for use on self-propelled vehicles, in which it is desirable and often necessary to utilize all of the machinery space to the greatest possible advantage, and this clutch has been dc. signed with special reference to its use on these vehicles. in this connection it should and keyed, and afterthe be stated that there are two types of this kind of clutch, one of which is intended to .be

' run dry and the other of which is designed to be runin oil, the clutch forming the subjectmatterof this application'being of that kind designed to run in oil;

In the drawings, a indicates the end of the crank-shaft of a motor or some like drivingshaft, and I) the end of a driven shaft. On the end of the shaft 0, is a frame consisting of the hub c, keyed on the shaft and rovided,

with a number of radially-dispose arms d,

extending therefrom, said hub and arms being preferably integrab In the'dravh'ngs 'the construction is shown as embodying these'arrns (i, set at equal distances apart on the hub,\this number of arms having been found to provide the necessary.

rigidity, but their number ii'iay be increased if desired, or a disk may beemployed instead of the arms, though this 'addsunnecessai weight.

Preferably in fixing the-hub c' on the end of the crank-shaft a the two arts are tapered ub has been so fitted to the shaft a nut e is screwed onto the end of the latter against the hub to insure as far as possible an immovable connection between the hub and the shaft. Beyond the nut e the shaft 11 is extended, as shown atf, to provide a bearing for the inner end of a second clutch-frame, which consists of a disk 9 on the end of a long hub h, the outer end of which is squared off, as at to enter the squared socket is in the on 'of the driven shaft 1). Over the end f of the shaft a is fitted a bushing m, having a flanged head thereon, which is interposed between the inner end of the hub h and the ,nut c and bears on a shoulder on the end of the shaft, resulting from the turning down of the extensionf of said shaft to a smaller diameter.

Theframe, consisting of the hub c and the arms d, together with the parts of the clutch su ported thereon, may be referred to for the sa e of concisenes as the"driving clutchhead, and the di 9 and hub 71, together with the clutch elements mounted thereon, may be referred to as the driven clutchhead.

At thc extremities of the arms (I the pins '0 are mounted, one in the end of each arm, to

render thennrigid, passing throughlmsses 1), cast integral with the arms, and are secured therein in any convenient manner; but pref- IIO .bear against the end of the boss, and

erably they are provided with flan es q to a nut r.

is'thi'eaded onto the end of the pin, which ex- ;ed, which are equally spaced between the tends through the gtrm. It IS understood that these ms are parallel with the axis of the crank-s aft and equidistant therefrom. In the disk-g three other pins 8 are mountrings '1) and w are of metal and have'holes punched therein to fit their respective pins oosely,

I to the end that they may move more or less thereon endwise.

" 1 This clutch bein' of that t e intended to run in oil, the meta disks run irectly in contact one with the other instead of bein faced with leather or some such material, w rich is .35 ',-.wli ich compress. the overlapping portions of used when the clutch is designed to run with idrycontact-surfaees. I Preferably these rings are made ofgun-metal and are turned off smoothly on each side. 1 After the rings w have .of the pins s and locked thereon by means of any of the well-known devices used for that pn'irpose. These nuts constitute the abutmen'ts which receive the thrust of the devices fjfthei rfings 'v and w. Where clutches of this ch r''a'c'ter arerun in oil andthe frictional surjjfaces' consist of bare metal plates, it is obviconsistin a plurality of radially-arranged lethrong for-1s that greater compression will be required to provide a given frictional driving contact than would be required with a like clutch whose contact-surfaces are not only not lubricated, but are constructed of substances which normally offer more frictional resistance than. do metal surfaces. Therefore the means provided herein for the compression of the overlapping borders of the rings v and w vers 3, Ipivotally supported on pms 4, passing these levers and through lugs 5, cast on the disk 9 at right angles to the face thereof and .near the periphery of said disk. The short arm of these levers 3 lies in con tact with the innermost of the rings w, and the long arm extends radially inward to a point close to the surface of the hub h, the cnd'of said arm being located directly at the inner end of a hub 7, which is mounted. on the hub h to slide thereon, the interior of this hub being turned out to provide an annular recess 8 for the reception of a still spiral spring S), which bears against the inner end of the recess 8 and against the inner end of a pinch-nut 10, which is screwed onto the threaded portion I been fitted on the pins 8 in proper alternating relation with the rings {0 the nuts :1: are screwed onto the ends ceases of the hub h at the outer end thereof, the outer surface ofthis nut constituting a bearing for the outer end. of thehub 7. By screwing up this pinch-nut the spring 9 may be com-pressedmore or less, and the nut 10, (constituting a fixed abutment for one end. of the spring) the expansion of the latter obviously will move the hub 7 toward the disk g and swing the levers 3 on their pivots, thus bringing the short ends of said levers to bear against the inner one of the rings to, and as the outer ring 10 abuts against the nuts 91; the rings 11 will be pinched between the rings w, and as the rings 11 are carried by the driving clutch-head,movement will be imparted to the driven clutch-head on which. the rings to are carried, proportionately to the frictional contact between the rings o and the rings w, as determined by the expansion of the spring 9.

On the outer end of the hub 7 is a broad flange in which is turned an annular groove 12 to receive a loose ring 13, which is provided' with trunnions 14, to which the ends of a semicircularfork 15 are connected, which. fork is arranged to swing in bearings 16 and 17, which are represented in the drawings merely in a conventional manner, the fork bein provided with the trunnions 18, lo-

cate above the ends of the fork and extending into the fixed bearings 16 and17. On one of these trunnions (see Fig. 2) a lever 19 is secured, whereby the fork may be oscillated in its'bearings and sliding movement thereby be communicated to the hub 7 through the ring 13, mounted, as described, in the annularv roove in the end of said hub, and it is the -function of said lever 19 to. com ress'the spring 9 to relieve the rings v am 10 from frictional contact with one another, and thus break the connection between the driving and the driven shafts. If all pressure on the lever 19 is removed, the expansion of the sprin 9 will move the hub 7 toward the disk 9, ant thus compress the rings 11 of the driving clutch-head. between the rings w of the driven clutch-head, the nuts 00 in theends of the arms 8, as stated, taking all of the thrustof this compression.-

The abovedescribed construction sets forth clearly the means of connection between the driving and the driven shafts, and it is apparent that the separation of the (lriven shaft b from the squared end j of the hub h is all that is necessary to effect the easy dismounting of the clutch.

The spring Qis adjusted. by the manipulation of the pinch-nutlO, so that the maximum effort of the clutch may be adjusted to' be just equal to the load it has to transmit from the shaft on to the shaft b, and to effect this adjustment it is very desirable, especially when the clutch forins'part of the mechanism of a self-propelled vehicle, that this adjustment should be easily made and that one adjustment alone should be required, and to ceases decrease the tension of the spring 9. With the clutch thus adjusted to the load it is immaterial how quickly the clutch. be thrown onto its full power, even with the shaft (1 running at its maximum speed, for as the clutch is only equal to the torque of said shaft when the latter has picked up its load it Will of course slip when the load exceeds this point, pickin up its loadgradually as the momentum or the shaft a is overcome, and the] driven shaft wdll thus start Without a juncp, even though the clutch is thrown in suddenly. By practically nesting the driving clutch head and the driven clutch-head great economy of'space results not only because of the compactness of the mechanism. itself on account of this nested dispositionof the parts, but because of the fact that it requires only the separation of the squared end 7' of the hub ft from the socket in the end of the driven shaft into separate the driven and the driving clutch-heads.

Figs. 3 and a show a casing in side elevation and sectional elevation, respectively,

' within which the clutch mechanism is inclosed, said casing constituting an oilreservoir whereby all of the frictional parts of the machine may be thoroughly lubricated, the clutch mechanism running in contact with the oil or partially immersed therein. This casing is preferably made in two parts 20 and 21, bolted together in the plane of the axis of the shafts a and b, and preferably in the part 20 oppositely-located bosses'22 are cast, which constitute bearings for the trunnions of the fork l5.

To permit the easy assembling of the parts, the trunnions 18 of this fork are secured in collars 23 and 24, into which collars the shafts 25 on the one side and 26 on the other extend through the aforesaid bearings, the shaft 26 and one trunnion being secured in the collar 23 by set-screws, whereby the lever 19 may effect the oscillation of the fork 15 to operate the sliding hub T, as described, the other trunnion turning freely in the collar 24 and the latter turning freely on the en d of the shaft 25, which maybe secured in its bearing in any suitable manner, as being screwed therein. This specifically described construction, however, forms no part of the invention and any other means for mounting the fork in the casing to provide for the easy assembling of the parts may be substituted therefor, if desired.

The clutclr-casing is provided with suitable hubs 2S and 29, through which the shafts a and I) extend. l r

Any suitable. device may be provided to lock the lever 19 in a position which will hold the driving and driven clutch-heads out of operative contact one with the other. No such means, however, have been shown in the drawings nor need any be shown, for a notched plate or some similar device may be used for this purpose. I

Having thus described my ivention, What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. In afriction-clutch niechanisi'n, a frame mounted on the (hi ing-shaft, pins on the frame parallel with axis of the shaft; a second frame he a; driving connection with the driven shaft, pins on the frame parallel with the first-nor pins,said second frame being nested'wi fun the first and the pins on both extending in the same direction; a plurality of frictionaings supported looselv on the pins of each frame and arranged in al-' tcrnative overlapping relation one with the other, nuts on the of the pins of the second frame constituting abutments for the rings, and rad'ially-(lisposed levers pivotally supported on said-second frame. the outer ends of which are arranged to bear against said rii'igs to move the latter in the direction of said nuts, a member movable against the inner end of said l vers to actuate the latter simultaneously. a spring to move said mem her, an adjusting device for the spring, and

mechanism com'iectedwith said movable member to effect the compression of the spring.

2. The combination with a driving and a driven shaft, of a friction-clutch mechanism consisting of a-frame secured on the drivingshaft, and a second frame comprising a longhub and radial arms thereon and having a bearing on the driving-snaft and a driving connection with the driven shaftzpins on said frames parallel with the axis of the shaft and extending in the same direction. said second frame being nested within the area circumscribed by the pins of the other: friction-rings supported loosely on the pins of each frame. those on the one alternating with and overlapping those on the other: radiallydisposed leverspivotally supported on the arms ofthe second frame. a sliding hub mounted on the hub of the second frame. a spring to actuate the sliding hub to move it against the inner ends of said lev rs. a lever connected with said sliding hub to move it in the opposite direction. an adjusting device on the hub of the second frame to limit the movement of said sliding hub in one direction, and a suitable abutment against which said rings may be forced by said radial levers.

3. A frictitm-clutch mechanism compris ing a driving-shaft. a frame consisting of a hub and radially-disposed arms extending thercfrom. said hub being secured to the driving-slmft the end of the latter extending beyond said frame: a second frame consisting of a huband ra(Rally-disposed arms. said hub having a bearing on the extended end of the driving-shaft and having a driving connection with the driven shaft: pins on the arms of each frame entending in the same direction and parallel with the axis of the driving- .shaft,-friction -rings supported loosely on the inset each frame, those on the onealternatmg w th and overlapping those on the other; 18 dltlly(i1SpOS8d levers supported on the arms of the second frame, a sliding hub on the hub ofthe second frame, a spring .to actu ate the sliding hub to move it against the.inf ner end of said levers, alever connected with. v said sliding hub to move it in'the opposite di-z 1 rection, an adjusting device onthe hubpf the I second frame to limit the movement of the sliding hub in one. direction, and a suitable one of said frames against which said rings may be forced by said radial'levers.v

4'. In a friction-clutch mechanism, a drivhfjing clutch-head consisting of a hub and ra dlally dl'sposed arms thereon, pins in the ends of said arms parallel with the axis of ving shorter than the arms of the drivinghead, friction-rings supported on said pins said hub and friction-rings supported loosely 4 on said pins, said head being connected to the drivingvshaft; a driven clutch-head con '5 sisting .of a long hub bearing at one end on the driving-shaft rotatably, and having a drivingconnection at its opposite end with the driven shaft, radial arms on the hub, pins vin the ends of the arms parallel with the axis of the hub, the arms ofsaid driven head be 'and arranged in alternative overlapping relation with those on the driving-head, raj

dially-disposed levers pivotally supported on the driven head, the inner ends.of said levers lying in proximity'to said hub; a second hub slidably mdunted on the hub of the driven headto bear against the inner ends of said leabutment carried on the ends of the pins of.

vers, a .springilocated within said sliding hub to move the latter toward said levers, and n adjusting-hittfor said spring screwed onto the hub of the driven head, said nut constituting a bearingfor one end of said sliding, hub and constituting an abutment for saidspring; a lever to move said sliding hub to effect the compression of the spring; and a suitable abutment for said friction-rings suported onthe ends of the pins of one of said .In a friction-clutch, a drivingrshaft and a-dri'ven shaft, a longhub having a bearing -onthe-'driving-shaft, and a driving connec- 'tion with the driven shaft,.radial arms on the hub, and pins in the ends of the arms parallel with the axis of the hub, together with friction-rings carried on the pins loosely; ra-

dially-disposed levers to bear against the friction-rings to move them toward the ends of the pins, a sliding member on said hub to actuate saidlevers, and 'a' spring encircling the hub to actuate i said shding member; a second hub connected with the driving-shaft, radial arms on said-hub, and pins in the ends of the arms located outside of said first-named pins and extending in the same direction, friction-rings carried loosely on these pins and arranged in alternative overlapping 'relation to the other friction-rings; an adjust ing-nut on said hub constituting an abutment forsaid spring; a tight casing to inclose the 

